


God's Cruel Joke

by hetawriter



Category: Fruits Basket, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Aizawa is the Rabbit, And Bakugo but he barely shows up, Angst, F/M, Fruits Basket au, Happy Ending, Historical Non-Accurate AU, M/M, Midoriya isn't apart of the curse, OC God character, Todoroki is the Rat, Toshinori is a doctor that adopts our green boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-01-16 06:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18515893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hetawriter/pseuds/hetawriter
Summary: Todoroki was cursed by God at birth to take the form of a rat when in contact with someone of the opposite sex or when ill. He's found and brought back to the Sohma residence where he builds his own life at the healer for the other members of the zodiac.But what happens when his heart is stolen by a set of emerald eyes? Can the two boys survive their love for each other?





	1. Chapter 1

“The Todoroki prefecture is huge,” Nemuri remarked from atop her horse. The large walls of the prefecture seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.  The walls stood a full head above them made of thick logs. The gates protected the main village from any local bandits or unwanted guests, a common problem in the highly forested area. “I wouldn’t have thought we’d have family this far away.”

“She was sold by one of our lower cousins,” Aizawa responded his words as dull as his expression. “But there’s no doubt that Rei Todoroki has some form of Sohma blood in her.”

Nemuri smirked. “Well, it can’t be the father considering he’s the Lord.” She waved a finger at her cousin with a sly grin on her face. “Unless you think he’s a bastard.”

“The child or the father?” Aizawa’s face matched her smirk and the two laughed together for a moment, a few of the men around them echoed their laughs.

Their entourage was broken into twelve warriors of equal size and stature. Six men rode horses to the left near Aizawa and six women rode to the right near Nemuri. They were all given strict orders to protect the Sohma lords with their swords but to not touch the lords with their lives. If any of they so much as brushed the lords wrong there would be hell to pay.

One of Aizawa’s soldiers had ridden ahead to announce the Sohma’s arrival.

A few moments later the gates opened and Aizawa demanded shelter and food for his men, all would be provided for them by the Todorokis themselves. After all, they were there to remove a problem, if the lord Todoroki had an issue with supplying them for the ride home there would be strained words exchanged.

Nemuri and Aizawa were escorted directly to the Lord’s house, a grand statement in the middle of the village with red towers and roaring lions at the front. It was only at the front of the house that Aizawa and Nemuri departed from their horses.

When the doors to the castle opened they were escorted in by geishas, no doubt a sign of wealth produced by the extravagant lord.

The women giggled and offered refreshments in the parlor while they waited for Enji. Aizawa refused, leaning away from their touches as if their fingers were covered in the deadliest of poisons. Nemuri accepted, her hands reaching out to grasp at their fingers for far longer than was necessary. She winked at them as they walked away.

“Lighten up,” Nemuri said, nudging Aizawa. “Just a moment alone with the boy and we’re gone.”

Aizawa scoffed in silence. He didn’t wish to stay a moment longer than necessary, but asking to take one of the lord’s sons couldn’t be that simple.

The two waited in the parlor for what must have been close to an hour before Lord Todoroki finally joined them. He stood two heads taller than Aizawa with raging red hair and a burly beard. His eyes darted between the two nobles for a moment, taking in their travel haggard appearance.

“Good afternoon,” the lord said, a slight nod to his head. “I caught your messenger just a day earlier, you must have rode hard to get here.”

“We just came to confirm the rumors,” Nemuri said, bowing at the waist. She rose to make eye contact with the lord and smiled coyly. “We will be in and out in less than a day if it’s true.”

“You wish to take my son,” Enji said. “Worse, you wish to take my son that was blessed.”

“He was cursed,” Aizawa corrects. “But only if we’re right. And if we are right you have no say in the matter.”

“If I refuse?” Enji asks. “What then? The Todoroki province has more iron and better soldiers than any other province nearby, including the Sohmas.”

Aizawa shook his head, his eyes going to the sword at the lord’s side.

“He comes with us. You don’t want to know what our orders are otherwise.” His words are low in his throat, knowing he would not survive a fight against this lord.

The two stare each other down, the fire in Eniji’s eyes seems to spark out in defiance against Aizawa’s icy stare. Each person waiting for the other to blink.

“Does it matter that much to you?” Nemuri asked. “He can’t be a lord if it is the curse. He’ll never be able to have children or hold a woman. If he became your heir your lineage would die out. If we take him he’ll still have all the comforts and respect of nobility without the pressure of a family.”

The lord broke his glare with Aizawa to look back at Nemuri. He knew she was right, he couldn’t even be nursed properly when he was born. His mother couldn’t touch him without a heart attack and his sister dared not try to go near. All of the nursemaids and nannies that were hired would quit on the spot when his transformations became apparent. A wife was out of the question at this point.

“It’s the principal,” he said, his tone softening for the first time. “If I send him off to be nobility somewhere else the Todoroki clan will look weak. Like we turned away a blessing from the heavens.”

“A blessing and a curse are two different things,” Aizawa corrected. “But think of it as sending him away for schooling, or to be the ward of your wife’s family. That’s exactly what’s happening.”

“He would still be a Todoroki,” Enji said stubbornly. “Even if he went away.”

“Of course,” Aizawa said. “There are a few nobles who don’t take the Sohma name, myself included.”

Enji turned away and walked out of the room without a word. Aizawa and Nemuri exchanged glances while they waited to see what would happen next.

Just a few moments later Enji came back with a small boy by his side. He stood up to Enji’s knees, his face hiding behind his father’s leg. Half of his hair was the color of the sun and half of his head with the color of fresh snow. His one visible eye was a pale grey and the other was covered with white bandages.

“Shouto, I’d like you to meet some people,” Enji said. “They’re your cousins.”

“What happened?” Aizawa asked looking at the boy’s injuries.

“His mother had an accident,” Enji said.

“She tried to kill him,” Aizawa corrected. Enji’s expression did not change, but it said what Aizawa knew to be true all too clearly.

“Hello,” Nemuri said crouching down to Shouto’s height. “My name is Nemuri Kayama Sohma. May I hug you?”

Shouto quickly shook his head, hiding further behind his father’s leg.

“It’s ok,” she said. “When you get sick you go poof, right? Or when a girl hugs you? The same thing happens to me when a boy hugs me. We think that you’re a close part of our family Shouto, and if you can hug me and we don’t poof then we’re right.”

“But I don’t like it when I poof,” Shouto whispered. “I get small and everything gets so big. Do you also get small?”

“Yes,” Nemuri said. “But I don’t turn into the same animal that you do. I grow scales and my tongue gets all weird.” She wiggled her tongue at Shouto and the boy peeked out a bit. “It’ll only take a second. Please?”

Shouto shook his head.

“Shouto,” Enji said, his voice low. “I’m growing tired of this conversation. Just hold her and be done with this.”

“But you said-“

“I know what I said,” Enji said. “And now I’m saying something different. It doesn’t have to be for long, just hold her.”

Nemuri held her arms out, a perfect hug just waiting for Shouto. Something soft, warm, and unfamiliar. 

Shouto stepped away from his father, his steps were small as he walked over to Nemuri. He kept his head down, looking at his feet as he stepped into her embrace. For a moment his heart stopped as he waited for a cloud of smoke and the feeling of his skin shrinking, but nothing happened. Instead, Nemuri’s arms wrapped around him before she let him go.

“He’s the one,” Nemuri said running her fingers through Shouto’s white hair. “He’s the rat.”

[insert a read more line here]

 

It was upon entry to the Sohma prefecture a week later Shouto could feel something wrong. That somewhere hidden beneath the thriving village and bustling town was rot and deception. The entourage of guards left them the moment the entered the city, going to the city watchtowers to collect their reward for returning the Sohma nobles back home safely. Shouto felt unsafer for their loss.

He was riding with Aizawa, leaning back into his cousin’s protection with each step from the horses driving him further into hiding. His instincts screamed at him to run, but for what reason, he had no idea.

When the three nobles left their horses for the inner sanctums Shouto finally voiced his feelings.

“I’m scared,” Shouto said staying back at the stables.

Aizawa and Nemuri exchanged a knowing glance. Perhaps they too could feel the infestation.

“We’ll protect you,” Nemuri said. “We promise Shouto, you’ll be safe with us.”

Aizawa took the five-year-old’s hand and lead him into the inner walls where the zodiac lived. The bustle of the world seemed to leave them as the gates closed and Shouto could hear his heart pound.

The three of them walked through the courtyard, Nemuri pointing out the houses of the zodiac and their families as they passed. She pointed out the gardens that Hana the monkey had planted. She showed him the house where the children Uraraka the tiger and Inasa the ox held classes. Nemuri tried unsuccessfully to ease Shouto’s nerves.

At the center of the inner sanctum what could only be described as a mansion loomed over them. It wasn’t nearly the size of the Todoroki castle but it stood just as dark and fearsome. There were dragons hanging from the banisters and stone animals across the entrance. Each fixture that Shouto could see was fixed with one of the many of the zodiac animals. It was the one building that Nemuri did not mention until they were standing on the foundation.

“God lives here,” Shouto whispered. He couldn’t explain how he knew, but he did.

“Yes,” Nemuri said. “It’s also our celebration home where we host the yearly banquets and preform our arts.”

Aizawa began to walk up the steps to the building but Shouto pulled back. He didn’t want to go in there.

“You have to meet him,” Aizawa said his voice low with an unbreakable sadness.

“I don’t want to.”

“It will only be worse if we put it off,” Aizawa said. “He doesn’t- we can’t disobey. Just trust me.”

Shouto took an unsteady breath and followed his cousin.

The three of them stepped into the stale air of the mansion, walking around with a purpose.

Shouto tried to remember the layout but found himself stuck in a labyrinth instead. His feet couldn’t tell left from right or up from down any more than he could see out of his right eye.

The three finally came to a stop in front of large red doors. The energy behind the doors pulsed with malice and Shouto couldn’t stop shaking.

Nemuri knocked twice before a deep voice bade them enter.

When they stepped into the room Shouto wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but an elderly man lying in bed was not one of them. The man had deep set wrinkles that draped across his face and stark white hair. His brow was unkempt with thick black eyebrows and beneath them were iridescent eyes. Shouto tried to pinpoint a color but quickly gave up.

“Oh my,” the voice said, his words pulsating with energy. “Could this be who I think it is?”

Nemuri and Aizawa bowed deeply and Shouto quickly followed suit. The three of them stayed down for a while before the voice called them forward individually.

“My dear serpent,” the man said and Nemuri stepped forward to kiss his hand.

“My sweet rabbit.” Aizawa did the same.

“And you.” Shouto froze. “You must be my precious rat.”

Shouto stood up and stiffly walked over to the looming man. The closer he got the more colors Shouto saw in his eyes. Light blue, dark green, piercing red, soft amber. Each color flashed for a second before it was gone.

The man offered Shouto his hand and he kissed it like he saw Aizawa and Nemuri do before. The old man chuckled.

“My name is Seita,” he said. “And you know who I am, just as I know who you are.”

The man readjusted his position from lying down to sitting up. This man was old and frail, yet Shouto felt nothing but fear from this man.

“Let me look at you,” Seita said. Shouto stepped closer and the man raised a terribly wrinkled hand. He started at Shouto’s hair, pulling the different colored locks away from his head, clicking slightly. He then moved to the unharmed portion of Shouto’s face, running unwelcome fingers along Shouto’s cheeks and jaw.

“What happened here?” Seita asked, his fingers brushing against the bandages that covered the right half of Shouto’s face.

“An accident.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know better than anyone the truth. So say it again or I’ll drag it from your lips.”

“It was just an accident.”

Seita ripped the gauze from Shouto’s face, looking at the freshly healed wounds. Seita pressed his fingers against the scars and Shouto cried out in pain. The wounds may have been healed but the pain was still there.

Aizawa twitched and Nemuri looked away, unable to help the child.

Seita clicked his tongue and forced Shouto’s eye open, looking at the brilliant blue color.

“It’s unfortunate that this was the side that was injured,” Seita said. “Such a pretty blue. Such a pity.”

Shouto whined and Seita’s hands released his face, instead dropping to wrap around Shouto’s neck. He squeezed gently, not hard enough to make a mark, but just enough to Shouto to gasp for air.

“Try again,” Seita said. “How did you get hurt?”

“My mother,” Shouto gasped, his hands going up to the hands at his neck. “My mother threw boiling water on me. She offered an embrace but instead threw a pot of water on my face.”

Seita released Shouto and Shouto’s lungs filled with air.

“What’s your name again?” Seita asked. “Last time I saw you your name was Mirio. What is it this time?”

“Shouto. Todoroki Shouto.”

“Hmmm,” Seita said. “I don’t like it. But that’s alright. We’ll just have to live with it.”

Seita looked at his nobles and smiled. “You may leave.”

The three scurried to the door, fear wide on all of their faces.

“I’ll see you soon Todoroki Shouto.”

 

It was a few years later when Shouto’s life changed for a second time. And this second time was so much better.

Shouto was waiting in the gardens with Hana. She was Shouto’s cousin on his mother’s side. He knew they had to be related in some way considering she was the zodiac for the horse. She was teaching him the differences between the flowers she grew when Aizawa and Nemuri came riding back. A rumor of a town just a days ride to the West had a child that when his mother grasps him would turn into a hound. The child would be two years old now and the perfect candidate for the dog zodiac. Aizawa and Nemuri had left at once to find the zodiac child.

The two came back into the prefecture with an infant in Nemuri’s arms and two children at their heels. One of the boys had sandy hair and wild, ruby eyes. He had an open wound on his cheek that seemed to have scabbed over recently. His walk was tense but sturdy.

The other had dark hair and wouldn’t look up from his feet. He hugged himself close, as though making himself small would make him invisible. Yet he was the one who attracted Shouto’s gaze the most.

“What’s going on?” Shouto asked Hana.

“I don’t know,” she said, her words just above a whisper. “But it can’t be good.”

The following evening all was made clear. The village that the dog was born into was pillaged by bandits just days before Aizawa and Nemuri’s arrival. The two found the bandits on the last of their raids to pillage any goods they hadn’t already stolen. Most of the village was ash, but in the midsts of the ruins, they had found the two boys carrying a puppy that they swore was a human child. They had saved the dog from dying in the raids and were too young to just abandon. Aizawa asked to be held responsible for bringing back the boys but both Nemuri and him were punished for it.

“It was worth it,” the rabbit said as their doctor bandaged his eyes and paws. “It was the least we could do in such circumstances.”

Seita had pushed Aizawa beyond his limits forcing him into the zodiac form. The black rabbit aged a dozen years before their eyes. His once black luminous fur now ragged with blood filled tangles across his back and paws. His eyes were marred with lines that could have been from nails or knives.

Shouto sat with the family’s doctor, a new addition to the inner circle as far as he was aware. Traditionally one of the zodiac was the doctor but he died a few years ago, so this stranger was to take the position until Shouto was older.

Shouto dabbed antiseptic onto Aizawa’s paws while Toshinori worked on the rabbit's eyes.

“Will you help me?” Aizawa asked. His words were clear despite his animal form.

“I don’t know if I can care for them,” the doctor said.

“Seita won’t allow them to stay here. But we can’t just send them away, even if their memories were erased.”

“That would be cruel,” Toshinori said. He set down the bloodied gauze and picked out some clean bandages. “I can try. I don’t know how my wife would react, but I can ask and see if she’s interested.”

“Thank you,” Aizawa sighed. A weight was lifted off of his shoulders and his breathing came easier. “Thank you Toshinori. I owe you a debt.”

Shouto spent most of the evening working with Toshinori in the sick house just outside of the mansion. They cared for Aizawa to the best of their abilities but determined that he wouldn’t be fit to return to his true form until morning. He wasn’t in mortal danger, but his body was still weak and needed time to heal.

“The boys are outside,” Toshinori whispered. “We should let them know about their savior’s fate.”

Shouto nodded and watched Toshinori go to the front door, his hand wavering above the doorknob.

“Are you scared?”

“Me? No. I’m just not sure what Inko will say if I bring home two orphan boys tonight.”

“Would it be better if they stayed here?”

Toshinori shook his head, his gaze drawing towards the sleeping animal on the main bed. “They can’t see him like this.”

“What if they stayed with me?” Shouto asked. “I have an open bed in my house. They can’t stay there for long but one or two nights should be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Shouto shrugged, not trusting his voice. If either of them were girls this would be out of the question. But Shouto was healthy and any accidental embraces with the boys wouldn’t reveal his secret.

“Very well,” Toshinori said. “Just for tonight.”

Shouto nodded and the two went out to find the boys still sitting at the base of the mansion awaiting their fates.

“You’re the boys for the Hiroshi village,” Toshinori said. “The ones that Aizawa and Nemuri brought back, right?”

The boy with dark hair stood up and nodded, he hugged himself tightly but didn’t say anything. His hair almost seemed to glow by the torchlight. Shouto could swear his hair was green.

“We’re still figuring things out but you’ll most likely stay with me. Not tonight, but in the future. I’m the town doctor, Toshinori Yagi, and this is my apprentice Todoroki Shouto. You’ll be staying with him for the night.”

“Why?” the boy on the ground asked, his red eyes boring through Shouto.

“I can’t scare my wife with two orphans out of the blue,” Toshinori said. “But Shouto has been generous to offer a bed for you.”

“Just for the night,” Shouto insisted. 

The blond boy scowled but the green boy seemed to release a breath.

“Alright,” the green one said. “My name is Midoriya Izuku and this is Bakugo Katsuki.”

Toshinori nodded and looked back at Shouto. “Good luck, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Toshinori walked away, scratching the back of his head while the three boys watched.

Shouto’s house was cold and dark. The sun had long since set and no one was there to warm it. He left the door open for the other boys to come in and watched the blond boy run around, looking for a bed to sleep in. The green boy stayed close to Shouto’s side.

“Can I help?”

Shouto hesitated for just a second before nodding. The two gathered timber from outside and carried it into the house. Shouto hated the next part, he could never get his kindling to catch. Sometimes he even had to call in Inasa for help. Fire lighting was not his strong suit.

“Let me,” the other boy said. He took the flint out of Shouto’s hands and the two watched the flames go up in the hearth.

“Thanks,” Shouto said.

“Any time!”

They filled the hearth enough so that the fire wouldn’t go out in the night.

When their jobs were done they just stared at each other in the warm firelight. It had been a long time since Shouto had seen someone his age. Most of the zodiac was a dozen years older than him. Inasa was the closest to his age being five years older and Uraraka was still just a toddler. It was strange to see someone his age again.

After Shouto lost their staring contest, he lead the way to Izuku’s guest bed. Shouto’s house was designed so that the zodiac family member would have a room to themselves while the rest of the family existed elsewhere. Shouto had always thought that would make for a lonely living, and it was only made worse by his lack of family to fill the space given to him.

“This is your room,” Shouto said opening a door. A futon took up most of the space, covered in white linen and two headrests at the top of the bed. It was spacious, designed for a set of parents Shouto never wanted to see again. It would make for a good sleeping quarter for two orphans.

Shouto introduced the rest of the house. The kitchen held the hearth. A toilet could be found outside. There was a well near the front of the house. A pantry down the steps.

Shouto came to his room and was disturbed to find it open. Lying down on his own futon was the other boy, Bakugo, asleep.

Shouto opened his mouth to tell the other boy he was in the wrong spot before realizing how futile it would be. Let him sleep there. 

“Your room?” Midoriya whispered.

Shouto nodded, and let the door close behind him.

“Sorry,” Midoriya whispered, knowing that Bakugo had gone to bed in the wrong place.

“It’s fine,” Shouto whispered. “You should go get some sleep.”

Midoriya nodded and started walking back to the guest room he had seen before. He stopped when he realized that Shouto wasn’t following him.

“Don’t you want to go to bed?”

Shouto shrugged. He was tired, yes, but his bed was occupied by a guest.

Midoriya laughed, a soft bell-like chime, before walking back to take Shouto’s hand. He pulled Shouto with little resistance back to the large bedroom and laid down on one side of the futon.

“I haven’t slept in a real bed in weeks,” Midoriya cooed, finding his way under the linen covers.

Shouto sighed before getting under the other half. Midoriya was a boy. There wasn’t any danger here. Right?

“Good night,” Midoriya whispered, laying his head to rest. He was unconscious just moments later.

“Good night,” Shouto echoed back, his eyes glued to the other person next to him. There wasn’t any danger here, but Shouto could feel the world shifting on its axis. There was something here. Shouto just had to discover what it was.


	2. Chapter 2

Years passed and Shouto was never the same.

It didn’t take long for Toshinori to convince his wife that caring for two orphans in need was better than praying for a child that had never come to them. Bakugo and Midoriya were happy there.

Bakugo had taken a liking to the town guard after a while, off on adventures across town. Whenever Aizawa and Nemuri had to leave the town for whatever reason he was always the first to volunteer. He saw it as his way of giving back to the people who saved him.

Midoriya was different, taking an immediate liking to his new guardians. He spent a lot of time around the inner town, a silent shadow behind Toshinori. That also meant that he spent a lot of time with Shouto the apprentice.

At first, it was awkward, especially when Midoriya was forced to stay outside the gate when Toshinori was forced to care for the Sohma family specifically. It confused Shouto the first time. Midoriya knew about Iida the dog? Why couldn’t he know about the rest of them?

It just took one word for those questions to be silenced.

Seita.

Toshinori believed in self-learning. Often the two would spend the morning together, and the afternoon was for Shouto’s own experiences. A morning of caring for the ill with Toshinori and an afternoon in Toshinori’s personal library. Shouto had always learned better from books than he did touch or hearing so the separation was a mutual affair.

One afternoon Shouto was in Toshinori’s library. Shouto was invested in a book on bone setting and had just discovered a passage about tooth worms. Not something for the faint of heart, yet Midoriya popped his head in any way.

“What are you doing?” Midoriya asked. In his hands was a tray with two cups of tea on it. He set one down next to Shouto. Any other time Shouto would have downed the drink right then and there, but with the contents of his book, he couldn’t stomach it just yet.

“Working.”

“Oh.” Midoriya hesitated for a moment before finding his own spot next to Shouto and sitting. He sipped his tea while watching the other boy work. He sat close to Shouto, almost too close for someone Shouto barely knew.

They didn’t speak. Not again. They didn’t move. Shouto wondered if he wanted to.

Midoriya watched. Shouto worked.

And when the tea was gone, Midoriya picked up both cups and left.

That interaction happened again and again. Sometimes the conversation ended with Shouto’s curt responses. Sometimes Midoriya filled the air with his thoughts. His thoughts about Bakugo’s new interests with the guards. His worries about being left behind. His opinions on the colors of the flowers that Shouto ground between stones. Or a new character he learned from Toshinori’s books, letting the word slip from his tongue over and over again until he knew it by heart. He worried about not knowing what to do with his life.

One day Shouto was reading a boring book about roots and how to identify them in the wild. He hadn’t heard Midoriya come in, but he had felt it. There was a tension that hadn’t been there before. Something that made Shouto’s spine tingle as he heard the creaking of the wooden planks beneath Midoriya’s feet. Shouto felt the warmth of Midoriya’s ghost touch as they brushed fingers, the first touch since that night all those years ago when they shared a bed. 

Midoriya retracted suddenly, knocking the cup so it wobbled in its place before settling. He left Shouto’s cup of tea behind. For the first time in months, Midoriya didn’t stay.

Shouto couldn’t focus on his studies for the rest of the day. Something important had just happened, but Shouto was unsure what that was.

Interactions like that became common. Stilted, and decrepit. As though a barrier had erected itself between the two boys. Shouto wondered if he had done something wrong. He feared he had pushed Midoriya away without meaning to.

Midoriya came by one day and Shouto reached out for his wrist. He caught the other boy by surprise, a cup of tea falling to the ground.

“Did I do something?” Shouto asked. Shouto kept his gaze leveled with Midoriya’s. One of Midoriya’s eyes was darker than the other, something that no one would notice unless they looked carefully.

“No!” Midoriya’s response was too quick, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

“I must have,” Shouto said. “You don’t- you don’t stay anymore.”

“Aren’t I a bother?” Midoriya retracted, pulling his hand out of Shouto’s softening grip.

“No, I miss… seeing you.” Shouto didn’t know what he was saying. Did he miss Midoriya? Someone he still saw every day? Even though they didn’t talk anymore he was still there with Toshinori in the mornings, he still came by with tea in the afternoon. Yet Shouto had grown to miss Midoriya all the same.

“Oh?” Midoriya pushed some of his fraying hair behind his ear. “I always thought that I was bugging you. That you didn’t like it when I was- when I got close.”

“Not at all.”

A silence consumed them and Shouto wondered if he had ever seen such a soft blush on someone. Perhaps he was doing the same.

“I’ll get us some tea,” Midoriya said picking up the cup from the ground and retreating back to the kitchen.

Shouto found a rag to clean up the mess. By the time the floor was dry Midoriya had returned. This time with two cups.

Shouto went back to his reading and Midoriya sat next to him.

“What’s that word?” Midoriya asked, practically leaning on Shouto.

“Ginger.”

“And that one?”

“Poultice.”

The conversation continued on. Shouto’s shoulder pressed firmly against Midoriya’s. When the tea was gone Midoriya still stayed, this time watching in silence. He only left when Toshinori came to check up on them, pulling away quickly as a child stuck with his hand in the cookie jar.

When Midoriya was out of earshot Toshinori gave a worried look to Shouto.

“Be careful,” he warned.

“Of what?”

Toshinori’s lips twitched into a smile. “Of love.”

For months Midoriya continued to have his tea with Shouto. They stayed close, leaning against one another. Touching each other in the most familiar of ways. Toshinori’s warning a long forgotten memory.

Shouto never expected- never thought-

But when Midoriya leaned over to ask about a word months later everything changed. Shouto felt their eyes lock in a way that he had felt before. He could feel Midoriya’s breath on his cheek. Shouto could count the constellations on Midoriya’s skin if he wanted. Time stopped. Midoriya just had to lean in an inch, a breath, more.

More! Shouto’s mind screamed. He wanted more! He wanted that moment.

Shouto’s sharp intake of breath was all Midoriya needed. Midoriya leaned in, his own breath stopped, his eyes began to close.

If Shouto did nothing he would get what he wanted more than anything. But Toshinori’s warning. Seita’s anger. No, Seita’s rage. Seita’s rage against Midoriya.

“I can’t,” Shouto said, his head turning away.

“Oh- oh no. I’m so sorry I thought that-“

“No, it’s not that!” Shouto’s heart was breaking as he spoke. He could only just see Midoriya out of the corner of his eyes. “I just can’t.”

Midoriya’s eyes were spilling with hurt as he nodded, pulling away from Shouto completely. Midoriya stood in a rush, his chair scraping against the floor. He spun ready to run away from the rejection but Shouto stopped him with a hand. Shouto wrapped his arms around Midoriya’s back, pulling him into a loose embrace, something that Midoriya could leave without a fight. Shouto had no living memory of embracing anyone before or being embraced aside from the one time with Nemuri.

Shouto waited for Midoriya to pull away but it didn’t happen.

“Midoriya,” Shouto whispered. “My family would never allow us.”

“Don’t worry about them,” Midoriya whispered back, his hands reaching up to run across Shouto’s skin. “If this is- If I’m what you want don’t let them get in the way.”

“It’s not that simple. Seita is powerful. He would never forgive-“

“Love?”

Shouto squeezed Midoriya at the word. Love. Toshinori’s warning came back to the forefront of his mind. Shouto nodded.

“Would it change if I were a woman?” Midoriya asked.

“Yes,” Shouto replied. The word a curse on his tongue. “Yes, but it would be so much worse.”

Midoriya pushed away and nodded. His back still to Shouto.

“It’s not what you think- I can’t be with anyone.”

Midoriya stayed still for a moment, his heart pulling him in one direction and his emotions in another. “Anyone?”

Shouto nodded. “Especially not a woman.”

“Are you promised to someone?”

Shouto hesitated before shaking his head. If he ever wanted to be with someone- the thought of Uraraka or Inasa made his skin shiver. He didn’t want his cousins, not the way that Hana and Tashi were. Not the way Toshinori and Inko were. He wanted-

“No, I’m not. No promises, no desires. I want you,” Shouto said. “I want to be with you. But Seita would never allow it. He… hordes us. Like we’re toys or delicacies. And if we dared to imagine what it would be like without him? I just can’t.”

Midoriya nodded. “I think I understand.” Midoriya’s hands went to his face, wiping away any unseen tears before escaping.

Midoriya returned the next day, but he didn’t stay long again. He maybe sat around for a few minutes, trying to have a stilted conversation before leaving. The cycle continued for months. Midoriya entered. Midoriya left.

Perhaps it was just too painful for him to be around someone he could never have. Shouto felt the same. His heart panged in his chest whenever Midoriya entered the same room. It cried when Midoriya left the room. It yearned for Midoriya.

Months later was the first time Midoriya was let inside the inner compound since he first arrived. Hana was in labor and Toshinori needed an extra set of hands. Midoriya wasn’t ‘in’ on the secret, but he had an inkling and Toshinori needed all the help he could get. At first, Seita wasn’t going to accept the request, but when Tashi came down with a fever from an accident days before Seita was left with no choice.

Not unless he wanted the horse spirit and the dragon spirit to die on the same night.

Midoriya was forced to run back and forth between the labor room and the sick room. He brought water, medicines, clothes to anyone who needed help. Toshinori and Shouto ran the labor room with a waiting wet-nurse and another male doctor from another town was called in to take care of Tashi.

It was hectic. Mad. Insane. It was as though every push from Hana’s newborn brought Tashi closer to death. Midoriya came back with a message from the other doctor, one whispered in his father’s ear.

Tashi would not last the night.

That was when Shouto sent the wet-nurse away. Toshinori opened his mouth to argue before realizing exactly what was happening. Tashi was dying in the other room while his wife was set to give birth. Tashi would be reborn as his own son.

“I don’t want him,” Hana begged, her eyes locked with Shouto’s. “I don’t want this babe. He can’t be real. He can’t.” 

Hana screamed. The baby screamed. Tashi breathed his last.

“It’s a boy,” Toshinori whispered, washing the flesh from the child’s skin.

Hana only sobbed. When the baby was placed in her arms and no one changed the sobbing turned into shrieks.

Shouto rushed out of the room, emptying his stomach in the grass outside. It was a sick joke that had been played on two unsuspecting parents. One dead and the other left to care for his reincarnation. At least Aizawa and Nemuri wouldn’t have to hunt for a cursed child this time.

Midoriya placed a comforting hand on Shouto’s back. He rubbed his friend’s back in calming motions until Shouto’s own illness stopped.

“You’ll never be a doctor if you can’t deliver a baby without barfing,” Midoriya jested. His own laughter was stilted.

“God plays cruel jokes on us,” Shouto responded. His eyes glancing back up at the main building. Did Seita know?

“He does,” Midoriya agreed. “But what can we do? We’re… born to die. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t make a difference here. We can help Hana, she…”

“Her husband just died and she just gave birth. I can’t imagine something worse.”

“She loved him.” Midoriya didn’t question it. He had never met them before but the shrieks that they could hear weren’t physical pain.

“Yes.” Shouto paused long enough to see something flash in Midoriya’s eyes. He could feel the truth sitting there. “She does.”

“Do you think she’ll ever love again?”

“No. She’ll always long for him.”

“Shouto-“

“Todoroki. You should call me by my last name. You do know nothing has changed. We still can’t be together. As much as we- as much as I want.”

“I don’t care.” Midoriya reached over and placed his hand on the side of Shouto’s face, his thumb tracing the edge of Shouto’s scar. “Please, let me love you.”

Shouto leaned into the hand. It was dangerous. It was unwise. Seita would be furious. Against all better judgment, Shouto nodded. “Do you love me?”

Midoriya nodded. “I think I’ve always loved you.”

Shouto’s eyes filled with tears and he started to cry.

Midoriya leaned in again and Shouto pulled back.

“Not here,” he said. “The walls have eyes and… my mouth is quite foul.”

Midoriya pressed his lips but nodded.

The two returned to the birthing chamber to comforting the mourning mother.  

As the sun began to rise the majority of work was done. The world was wronged by the previous night. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t keep spinning.

Shouto went to Toshinori’s practice the next day and waited by a book he could not pay attention to. When Midoriya came with tea they did not speak for there were no words.

Shouto was the one to lean forward first. Midoriya followed suit.

If Shouto were to give two words to his first kiss he would use the words ‘long awaited.’ In another word, he’d use ‘impatient.’ In a third, ‘perfect.’

Midoriya was warm. His lips were smooth and his tongue was firm against Shouto’s. The entire kiss Shouto felt like he was flying, there wasn’t anything impossible. Midoriya’s hands wrapped around Shouto’s waist, pulling him close until they were pressed against one another. Shouto was always warned by his family that this would never be possible. That he would never be able to hold the people he loved, but Shouto had circumvented their expectations in the best way imaginable.

It was only when Midoriya pulled away that Shouto realized how precious air was.

“Wow,” Midoriya gasped. “That was worth the wait.”

Shouto’s lips twitched into a grin before ducking down for another kiss.

Shouto didn’t learn anything that day.

It was weeks before the honeymoon stage was brought to an abrupt end. Toshinori was guiding Shouto through a new pain relief technique when the subject was broached.

“I’m happy for the both of you,” Toshinori said. “But you have to understand that he won’t be.”

Shouto’s hands stilled. “Are you going to tell him?”

“Will you?”

“Must I?”

Toshinori’s face was grim as he nodded.

“He’s going to kill me,” Shouto whispered.

“I don’t think he’d go that far.”

“Then he’ll kill Izuku.” Shouto’s heart stopped. Shouto could live with Seita’s decisions if it was just himself that would be harmed in the process, but the idea of Seita even near Midoriya sent shivers down Shouto’s spine.

“I hope not,” Toshinori said. “He will not be happy, that’s for certain.”

Shouto nodded, his heart leaping to his throat. “Is there anything I can do?”

Toshinori was silent, the cogs in his head visibly spinning.

“The sooner you tell him the better. Ask for permission. Don’t ask for forgiveness. If Seita tells you to leave, then do it. We both know what he’s like.”

Shouto saw what Seita was like any time he looked at the half-blind Aizawa.

“I need to tell him,” Shouto said. “I’ll talk to Seita tomorrow, but I have to talk to Midoriya first.”

Toshinori nodded. “Be honest with him, but keep your secret close.”

Shouto nodded. When it came time for Shouto to devote himself to his studies Shouto didn’t open any books. He waited for Midoriya.

“I love you,” Shouto said before Midoriya was even inside the room.

Midoriya stopped, a look of confusion crossing his face for a moment before it broke into a grin. The smile was so large that it must have hurt, his cheeks highlighting Shouto’s favorite freckles.

“I lo-“

“Wait,” Shouto said. “I think we need to talk. Or rather I need to talk, and you need to listen.”

The two sat down and Shouto spoke. He talked about his family dynamics, that his house was run under an iron fist. Seita’s actions filled Shouto’s mouth with cotton. Shouto spoke about burns, bruises, cuts. He warned about a cruel man who played god with a vengeance. He warned Midoriya about what was to come.

“I’m in love with you,” Shouto finished. “But I can’t subject you to his torture. I need to tell him if he finds out from anyone else I can’t imagine what you’ll go through. I can’t put you through that.”

Midoriya sat through Shouto’s words in silence. Every so often he would lose all color or shake with emotion. But he waited through Shouto’s words all the same.

Finally, Midoriya nodded. He finally seemed to understand exactly what Shouto had been trying to warn against for all these years. Or maybe he didn’t.

“I’m coming,” Midoriya said.

“What? No, this is my fight.”

“It’s our fight Todoroki. We’re fighting for us. For us to be together. I want to be there.”

Shouto opened his mouth to respond but Midoriya was too quick.

“It’s your life, not his. Even if he has all this power over you it’s still just your life.”

That- that felt right. All this time Shouto had been treating himself as the rat incarnate. But if Midoriya was right- no Midoriya was right. Shouto had his own life.

“Ok,” Shouto said. He reached out for Midoriya’s hand and felt the warmth. He felt comfort. “Tomorrow, meet me at the gate at dawn. We’ll face him together.”

The next day Shouto woke up ill. He knew that his sickness was only in the mind. He brewed a cup of ginger tea, hoping it would settle his unease before going out to wait at the gate.

Midoriya knocked once just as the sun peaked over the horizon and Shouto lead him in.

“How are you feeling?” Midoriya asked. His fingers tracing Shouto’s unburnt cheek.

“Horrible,” Shouto said. “But it doesn’t matter. I sent a message at dinner yesterday that I wished to speak with him.”

“Will we be eating with him?”

“Are you hungry? Because I wouldn’t count on being fed.”

Midoriya nodded. He paused for a moment, looking at the steps that lead to the main building. His eyes were lost for a moment before shaking off his nerves.

“You ok?”

“Just remembering last time I was here. Aizawa was kind. But that doesn’t- it doesn’t sit well for me what happened. I never knew it was Seita.”

Shouto nodded. “Now isn’t the time. We should keep moving.”

Midoriya opened his mouth, whether to argue or to agree Shouto was unsure. They were interrupted all the same.

Hana was waiting for them, a toddler on her hip.

“Hello Hana, Koda.” Shouto nodded his head in greeting. “What are you both doing out so early?”

“Seita asked us to get you,” Hana said. His eyes glancing between the two men. “He didn’t mention that you were bringing… an outsider.”

Shouto’s response was to grasp Midoriya’s hand.

“I see,” she said. “Is he worth it?”

“Yes.”

“He’s in the courtyard,” Hana said. 

The walk to the courtyard was short and tense. Midoriya was kind enough to not speak or let go of Shouto’s hand until they were facing Seita. Seita was sitting beneath a willow tree, facing the rising sun. His eyes seemed to scan the horizon, even though Shouto knew that the years had taken Seita’s sight from him completely. Was it wish fulfillment? Was he just pretending?

The years had not been kind to him. What was once an old man was now an ancient man. His eyes dropped, his hair was gone. Every breath looked to cause him pain.

“I’ll leave you now,” Hana said, walking away as fast as she could. She knew what was going to happen and didn’t want to be a witness.

“Shouto,” the man called. A hand reaching up to summon him closer.

Shouto took a step forward and felt his hand slip from Midoriya’s grasp.

Shouto kneeled beside Seita and took his hand, a hand wrapped with knots and pain. Shouto kissed one of the liver spots and massaged where he knew Seita’s worst aches were.

“You’re being kind,” Seita murmured. “That’s unusual.”

“I have a favor to ask,” Shouto said.

Seita nodded, his age made him appear far more sagely than usual. “I hear a third person. Who is it? Inasa?”

“No,” Shouto said. “This is Toshinori’s son, the one that Aizawa brought back. I’ve come to ask if- I love him.”

Seita removed his hand, pulling away violently. Seita’s face mangled in rage as he brought the back of his hand across Shouto’s cheek. His aim was good for someone who was blind.

“And so you thought to come and ask for what? You can’t be with him!”

“He’s a man,” Shouto argued. “He’d never- we’d never-“

“You think that’s the problem? That he’d never learn? You’re more a fool than I thought!” Seita reached down and pulled Shouto up by his hair.

“Stop it!” Midoriya cried rushing to Shouto’s side. He reached out for Seita’s hand, trying to pry it off of Shouto.

Seita snarled and threw Midoriya back, his strength unworldly for his age. Midoriya fell on his side, a set of cuts the shape of Seita’s nails appearing across Midoriya’s cheek.

“You want to be with him?” The grip on Shouto’s hair tightened. “A stranger? An outsider?”

Seita threw Shouto back, a chunk of hair caught between Seita’s fingers.

“Did you tell him what you look like? Does he know what you are?”

“No,” Shouto said.

“Why? Do you think he’ll stop  _ loving _ you? He never loved you to begin with.”

“Stop it,” Midoriya shouted. He crawled over to Shouto and put his hand on the back of Shouto’s head trying to stop the bleeding.

“Change,” Seita ordered.

Shouto’s heart stopped. “I- you can’t.”

“Change!” Seita screamed.

“It doesn’t work like that!”

“Oh, I know. But you’re going to.”

Shouto looked up at Midoriya with fear in his eyes. Midoriya would understand. He knew about Iida. He must have suspected, thought something. He knew how precious Iida was to the family. He saw, but if he didn’t. If he couldn’t.

“Trust me,” Shouto mouthed.

Midoriya nodded panic racing through his eyes. He knew it would be bad, but this…

“If he can- if he can love me will you let us be?” Shouto asked.

“No,” Seita snarled.

“Then I won’t.”

“Then he’ll never love you.”

“Of course I love him!” Midoriya’s panic overruled his sensibilities as he clutched at Shouto. This was wrong. This was hurtful. This was evil.

“Do you know the depths of his secrets? Do you know his worst part of him? Do you know the best? They’re the same thing. They’re all the same thing, and if you never know them how can you say you love him?”

“Shouto is kind,” Midoriya said. Tears were stinging his eyes. “He is smart and studious. He’s gentle with those who need it and thoughtful. He protects people. He’s the best person I’ve ever met. I don’t care about whatever secrets you’re talking about.”

Shouto could cry.

“Pfft,” Seita snarled. “You hardly understand. Bring him here, and I’ll show you.” His hands opened and closed, grasping in the direction he had thrown Shouto.

Shouto pushed Midoriya away, letting the blood drip from his scalp.

“I’ll show him,” Shouto said. “And he’ll still love me. I know he will. I just- I want us to be together. That’s all I want.”

“Not without something from him. No, even if he doesn’t care I can’t just let him be. Is he strong?”

“Yes,” Shouto said.

“Brave?”

“Yes.”

Seita’s smile turned cruel. “Is he young?”

“Yes.”

“The army. Ten years.”

“What?”

“You heard me. If he loves you if he truly loves you ten years fighting as a mercenary for the Sohma family name should be enough.”

Shouto’s lip quivered. Midoriya could say no. He needed to say-

“Yes,” Midoriya agreed. “I can do that.”

“I can too,” Shouto said. He reached out and pressed his finger’s to Midoriya’s unharmed cheek. Ten years was such a long time. But if it was all that Seita asked of them.

Shouto crawled over to Seita. It was over before it began. Seita was familiar with what it took to transform a member of the zodiac. He knew their limits, his cruelty was without bounds.

Shouto was withering at Seita’s feet just moments later. A flash of blue smoke was all the warning that Midoriya got. Shouto was pathetic as a rat. He was a red and white spotted mouse with beady little eyes and a deep marring scar that covered half of his body. He knew he was ugly. He knew that he was weak.

He knew that Midoriya loved him.

His lover barely flinched as he watched Shouto transform into an animal.

“I still love him,” Midoriya said. “I don’t care that… he’s this.”

Seita spat. “Ten years,” he repeated.

“Ten years,” Shouto said in his rat form.

“And then he’s mine,” Midoriya snapped.

 

* * *

 

Shouto was in the garden years later with an arm full of herbs for his practice. His apprenticeship was long over and his practice was in full swing. He took patients from all across the township and beyond. Six days of the week he was on horseback traveling across the town and through the Sohma compound to cure whatever ails the people. But on the seventh day, he often spent it tending to his garden.

Shouto was in the middle of digging up his root vegetables when he felt something coming towards him.

Shouto lifted his head to see the young Iida pounding against the earth with his feet. He stopped in front of Shouto’s garden his chest rising and falling erratically.

“Who’s hurt?” Shouto asked jumping to his feet. 

The boy shook his head, wide eyes explaining everything.

Shouto brought his hands to his mouth covering his open jaw. His blood ran cold and Shouto immediate wondered when he had last bathed. Did his breath smell funny? Was his face washed?

Iida turned around and started running for the inner circle gate and Shouto took off behind him.

The jog wasn’t far, just a few houses away passing by a stunned Uraraka without a breath of greetings. Shouto couldn’t stop until he reached the main gate, pulling it open with the younger man’s help.

There he was. Tired, with deep purple bags under his eyes and a harsh exterior. He was wearing a dark green armor with navy accents underneath, the colors of the Sohma household. On what little skin Shouto could see he spotted the welts and divots of scarred flesh, a sign of the many battles he must have endured.

“Hello,” Izuku Midoriya whispered. His voice deepened with age. “I’m back.”

Shouto couldn’t stop himself from throwing his arms around Izuku’s shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug. Ten years had passed since Shouto had last seen his beloved. Ten long years of never knowing if Izuku was alive or not. Ten years with hardly a letter to sooth the days between.

“Welcome home,” Shouto whispered through the tears as he pulled Izuku tight.


End file.
